That's when 49-year old Jeffrey Hammer of Shannon was struck and killed in a hit and run accident.
Taking us through family photos, Denise Hammer enjoys what are now treasured memories of a husband and father of four no longer in the picture.
"At night, you struggle with how long did he laid there with no one calling for help," Denise Hammer said.
One of many unanswered questions about Jeffery Hammer's sudden death in late September. It's believed he left his car on foot after an unrelated accident near Shannon. On his way home, he was hit by a car that took off.
"It's just beyond my comprehension that someone could do this and just leave someone in the road to lay there," Denise Hammer.
More than 30 tips surfaced about the Hammer case. None panning out so far. But these pieces of the getaway car, a side view mirror left at the accident scene, offer some help.
"From our investigation, it appears it's off of a Malibu or a Cutlass," Stephenson County Sargeant Donovan Visel said.
It's not clear what year. But the color is emerald green, like the leftover parts. The family has put up more than 1,500 fliers across Northwest Illinois to get more details.
"At this point it doesn't look like this driver has remorse and will come forward, so our hope is was there a witness, someone with this driver?" Denise Hammer said.
Ultimately they want closure on the troubling mystery about a night and a man they dearly loved.
Denise Hammer believes the driver of the car must have something to hide. But she has no idea what that could be.
She says whoever it was, they had to have realized they hit a person because her husband was a large man, six foot two and about 240 pounds.
Authorities say Jeffery Hammer was actually hit by a second car after the first vehicle struck him at Hershey and Bolton Roads near Shannon. The driver of the second car called authorities about her incident. But there are no charges against her at this time.